NCP-SP's Rohit Pawar Alleges 'Sabotage' Angle in Plane Crash that Killed Ajit Pawar, Four Others
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New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) MLA Rohit Pawar demanded a detailed investigation by an independent agency into the death of former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar last month and also alleged that the plane crash which led to the death of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo could have been an act of sabotage, reported Hindustan Times.
Pawar questioned the maintenance practices of VSR Ventures, the company which owned the plane that was carrying Ajit Pawar and four others when it crashed in Baramati on January 28.
Accusing the firm of illegally carrying additional fuel tanks to cut costs, Pawar also claimed that internal communications contained repeated warnings to the pilot regarding his drinking habits.
“Did the plane carry excess fuel tanks? CCTV footage should be scanned to see if they did. Such an act also acts as a bomb,” said Pawar. He also said that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had revoked VSR’s authorisation due to safety concerns and that the firm failed to respond to EASA regarding a September 2023 crash in Mumbai.
Pawar claimed that irrespective of these concerns, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not initiate action against the firm. The NCP-SP leader further alleged that owing to the fact that it owns the highest number of Learjet aircraft in the country, VSR Ventures enjoys a monopoly in the Indian charter aviation sector, reported Hindustan Times.
Rejecting the allegations, V.K. Singh, the owner of VSR Ventures told the newspaper, “It was a very unfortunate accident which should not have taken place. We lost one of the most important persons of Maharashtra. The aircraft had flown many VVIPs and even the deputy CM of Maharashtra Ajit Pawarji on January 24. It had taken off as planned at around 8am from Mumbai airport. We are fully cooperating with the government for all the investigation.”
Pawar also alleged that a senior NCP leader who arrived late for a meeting on January 27 had forced Ajit to cancel a road trip and termed the circumstances "suspicious".
He demanded that international agencies such as the US National Transportation Safety Board be involved in the probe and also demanded that a Pawar family member be present during the analysis of the aircraft’s black box data.
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